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Table of Contents
Chapter 64
STUBB'S
SUPPER
Stubb's whale had been
killed some distance from the ship. It was a calm; so, forming a tandem of
three boats, we commenced the slow business of towing the trophy to the Pequod.
And now, as we eighteen men with our thirty-six arms, and one hundred and
eighty thumbs and fingers, slowly toiled hour after hour upon that inert,
sluggish corpse in the sea; and it seemed hardly to budge at all, except at
long intervals; good evidence was hereby furnished of the enormousness of the
mass we moved. For, upon the great canal of Hang-Ho, or whatever they call it,
in China, four or five laborers on the foot-path will draw a bulky freighted
junk at the rate of a mile an hour; but this grand argosy we towed heavily
forged along, as if laden with pig-lead in bulk. Darkness came on; but three
lights up and down in the Pequod's main-rigging dimly guided our way; till
drawing nearer we saw Ahab dropping one of several more lanterns over the ..
2 bulwarks. Vacantly
eyeing the heaving whale for a moment, he issued the usual orders for securing
it for the night, and then handing his lantern to a seaman, went his way into
the cabin, and did not come forward again until morning. Though, in overseeing
the pursuit of this whale, Captain Ahab had evinced his customary activity, to
call it so; yet now that the creature was dead, some vague dissatisfaction, or
impatience, or despair, seemed working in him; as if the sight of that dead
body reminded him that Moby Dick was yet to be slain; and though a thousand
other whales were brought to his ship, all that would not one jot advance his
grand, monomaniac object. Very soon you would have thought from the sound on
the Pequod's decks, that all hands were preparing to cast anchor in the deep;
for heavy chains are being dragged along the deck, and thrust rattling out of
the port-holes. But by those clanking links, the vast corpse itself, not the
ship, is to be moored. Tied by the head to the stern, and by the tail to the
bows, the whale now lies with its black hull close to the vessel's, and seen
through the darkness of the night, which obscured the spars and rigging aloft,
the two --ship and whale, seemed yoked together like colossal bullocks,
whereof one reclines while the other remains standing. If moody Ahab was now
all quiescence, at least so far as could be known on deck, Stubb, his second
mate, flushed with conquest, betrayed an unusual but still good-natured
excitement. Such an unwonted bustle was he in that the staid Starbuck, his ..
3 official superior,
quietly resigned to him for the time the sole management of affairs. One
small, helping cause of all this liveliness in Stubb, was soon made strangely
manifest. Stubb was a high liver; he was somewhat intemperately fond of the
whale as a flavorish thing to his palate. A steak, a steak, ere I sleep! You,
Daggoo! overboard you go, and cut me one from his small! Here be it known,
that though these wild fishermen do not, as a general thing, and according to
the great military maxim, make the enemy defray the current expenses of the
war (at least before realizing the proceeds of the voyage), yet now and then
you find some of these Nantucketers who have a genuine relish for that
particular part of the Sperm Whale designated by Stubb; comprising the
tapering extremity of the body. About midnight that steak was cut and cooked;
and lighted by two lanterns of sperm oil, Stubb stoutly stood up to his
spermaceti supper at the capstan-head, as if that capstan were a sideboard.
Nor was Stubb the only banqueter on whale's flesh that night. Mingling their
mumblings with his own mastications, thousands on thousands of sharks,
swarming round the dead leviathan, smackingly feasted on its fatness. The few
sleepers below in their bunks were often startled by the sharp slapping of
their tails against the hull, within a few inches of the sleepers' hearts.
Peering over the side you could just see them (as before you heard them)
wallowing in the sullen, black waters, and turning over on their backs as they
scooped out huge globular pieces of the whale of the bigness of a human head.
This particular feat of the shark seems all but miraculous. How, at such an
apparently unassailable surface, they contrive to gouge out such symmetrical
mouthfuls, remains a part of the universal problem of all things. The mark
they thus leave on the whale, may best be likened to the hollow made by a
carpenter in countersinking for a screw. Though amid all the smoking horror
and diabolism of a sea-fight, sharks will be seen longingly gazing up to the
ship's decks, like hungry dogs round a table where red meat is being carved,
ready to bolt down every killed man that is tossed to them; and though, while
the valiant butchers over the deck-table are ..
4 thus cannibally
carving each other's live meat with carving-knives all gilded and tasselled,
the sharks, also, with their jewel-hilted mouths, are quarrelsomely carving
away under the table at the dead meat; and though, were you to turn the whole
affair upside down, it would still be pretty much the same thing, that is to
say, a shocking sharkish business enough for all parties; and though sharks
also are the invariable outriders of all slave ships crossing the Atlantic,
systematically trotting alongside, to be handy in case a parcel is to be
carried anywhere, or a dead slave to be decently buried; and though one or two
other like instances might be set down, touching the set terms, places, and
occasions, when sharks do most socially congregate, and most hilariously
feast; yet is there no conceivable time or occasion when you will find them in
such countless numbers, and in gayer or more jovial spirits, than around a
dead sperm whale, moored by night to a whale-ship at sea. If you have never
seen that sight, then suspend your decision about the propriety of
devil-worship, and the expediency of conciliating the devil. But, as yet,
Stubb heeded not the mumblings of the banquet that was going on so nigh him,
no more than the sharks heeded the smacking of his own epicurean lips. Cook,
cook! --where's that old Fleece? he cried at length, widening his legs still
further, as if to form a more secure base for his supper; and, at the same
time darting his fork into the dish, as if stabbing with his lance; cook, you
cook! --sail this way, cook! the old black, not in any very high glee at
having been previously routed from his warm hammock at a most unseasonable
hour, came shambling along from his galley, for, like many old blacks, there
was something the matter with his knee-pans, which he did not keep well
scoured like his other pans; this old Fleece, as they called him, came
shuffling and limping along, assisting his step with his tongs, which, after a
clumsy fashion, were made of straightened iron hoops; this old Ebony
floundered along, and in obedience to the word of command, came to a dead stop
on the opposite side of Stubb's sideboard; when, ..
5 with both hands folded
before him, and resting on his two-legged cane, he bowed his arched back still
further over, at the same time sideways inclining his head, so as to bring his
best ear into play. Cook, said Stubb, rapidly lifting a rather reddish morsel
to his mouth, don't you think this steak is rather overdone? You've been
beating this steak too much, cook; it's too tender. Don't I always say that to
be good, a whale-steak must be tough? There are those sharks now over the
side, don't you see they prefer it tough and rare? What a shindy they are
kicking up! Cook, go and talk to 'em; tell 'em they are welcome to help
themselves civilly, and in moderation, but they must keep quiet. Blast me, if
I can hear my own voice. Away, cook, and deliver my message. Here, take this
lantern, snatching one from his sideboard; now then, go and preach to 'em!
Sullenly taking the offered lantern, old Fleece limped across the deck to the
bulwarks; and then, with one hand dropping his light low over the sea, so as
to get a good view of his congregation, with the other hand he solemnly
flourished his tongs, and leaning far over the side in a mumbling voice began
addressing the sharks, while Stubb, softly crawling behind, overheard all that
was said. Fellow-critters: I'se ordered here to say dat you must stop dat dam
noise dare. you hear? stop dat dam smackin' ob de lip! massa Stubb say dat you
can fill your dam bellies up to de hatchings, but by Gor! you must stop dat
dam racket! Cook, here interposed Stubb, accompanying the word with a sudden
slap on the shoulder, -- Cook! why, damn your eyes, you mustn't swear that way
when you're preaching. That's no way to convert sinners, Cook! Who dat? Den
preach to him yourself, sullenly turning to go. No, Cook; go on, go on. Well,
den, Belubed fellow-critters: -- Right! exclaimed Stubb, approvingly, coax 'em
to it; try that, and Fleece continued. Do you is all sharks, and by natur wery
woracious, yet I ..
6 zay to you,
fellow-critters, dat dat woraciousness --'top dat dam slappin' ob de tail! How
you tink to hear, 'spose you keep up such a dam slappin' and bitin' dare?
Cook, cried Stubb, collaring him, I wont have that swearing. Talk to 'em
gentlemanly. Once more the sermon proceeded. Your woraciousness,
fellow-critters, I don't blame ye so much for; dat is natur, and can't be
helped; but to gobern dat wicked natur, dat is de pint. You is sharks, sartin;
but if you gobern de shark in you, why den you be angel; for all angel is
not'ing more dan de shark well goberned. Now, look here, bred'ren, just try
wonst to be cibil, a helping yourselbs from dat whale. Don't be tearin' de
blubber out your neighbour's mout, I say. Is not one shark dood right as toder
to dat whale? And, by Gor, none on you has de right to dat whale; dat whale
belong to some one else. I know some o' you has berry brig mout, brigger dan
oders; but den de brig mouts sometimes has de small bellies; so dat de
brigness ob de mout is not to swallar wid, but to bite off de blubber for de
small fry ob sharks, dat can't get into de scrouge to help demselves. Well
done, old Fleece! cried Stubb, that's Christianity; go on. No use goin' on; de
dam willains will keep a scrougin' and slappin' each oder, Massa Stubb; dey
don't hear one word; no use a-preachin' to such dam g'uttons as you call 'em,
till dare bellies is full, and dare bellies is bottomless; and when dey do get
em full, dey wont hear you den; for den dey sink in de sea, go fast to sleep
on de coral, and can't hear not'ing at all, no more, for eber and eber. Upon
my soul, I am about of the same opinion; so give the benediction, Fleece, and
I'll away to my supper. Upon this, Fleece, holding both hands over the fishy
mob, raised his shrill voice, and cried -- Cussed fellow-critters! Kick up de
damndest row as ever you can; fill your dam' bellies 'till dey bust --and den
die. Now, cook, said Stubb, resuming his supper at the capstan; Stand just
where you stood before, there, over against me, and pay particular attention.
..
7 All dention, said
Fleece, again stooping over upon his tongs in the desired position. Well, said
Stubb, helping himself freely meanwhile; I shall now go back to the subject of
this steak. In the first place, how old are you, cook? What dat do wid de
'teak, said the old black, testily. Silence! How old are you, cook? 'Bout
ninety, dey say, he gloomily muttered. And have you lived in this world hard
upon one hundred years, cook, and don't know yet how to cook a whale-steak?
rapidly bolting another mouthful at the last word, so that that morsel seemed
a continuation of the question. Where were you born, cook? 'Hind de hatchway,
in ferry-boat, goin' ober de Roanoke. Born in a ferry-boat! That's queer, too.
But I want to know what country you were born in, cook? Didn't I say de
Roanoke country? he cried, sharply. No, you didn't, cook; but I'll tell you
what I'm coming to, cook. You must go home and be born over again; you don't
know how to cook a whale-steak yet. Bress my soul, if I cook noder one, he
growled, angrily, turning round to depart. Come back, cook; --here, hand me
those tongs; --now take that bit of steak there, and tell me if you think that
steak cooked as it should be? Take it, I say --holding the tongs towards him
-- take it, and taste it. Faintly smacking his withered lips over it for a
moment, the old negro muttered, Best cooked 'teak I eber taste; joosy, berry
joosy. Cook, said Stubb, squaring himself once more; do you belong to the
church? Passed one once in Cape-Down, said the old man sullenly. And you have
once in your life passed a holy church in Cape-Town, where you doubtless
overheard a holy parson addressing his hearers as his beloved
fellow-creatures, have you, cook! And yet you come here, and tell me such a
dreadful lie as you did just now, eh? said Stubb. Where do you expect to go
to, cook? ..
8 Go to bed berry soon,
he mumbled, half-turning as he spoke. Avast! heave to! I mean when you die,
cook. It's an awful question. Now what's your answer? When dis old brack man
dies, said the negro slowly, changing his whole air and demeanor, he hisself
won't go nowhere; but some bressed angel will come and fetch him. Fetch him?
How? In a coach and four, as they fetched Elijah? And fetch him where? Up dere,
said Fleece, holding his tongs straight over his head, and keeping it there
very solemnly. So, then, you expect to go up into our main-top, do you, cook,
when you are dead? But don't you know the higher you climb, the colder it
gets? Main-top, eh? Didn't say dat t'all, said Fleece, again in the sulks. You
said up there, didn't you, and now look yourself, and see where your tongs are
pointing. But, perhaps you expect to get into heaven by crawling through the
lubber's hole, cook; but no, no, cook, you don't get there, except you go the
regular way, round by the rigging. It's a ticklish business, but must be done,
or else it's no go. But none of us are in heaven yet. Drop your tongs, cook,
and hear my orders. Do ye hear? Hold your hat in one hand, and clap t'other
a'top of your heart, when I'm giving my orders, cook. What! that your heart,
there? --that's your gizzard! Aloft! aloft! --that's it --now you have it.
Hold it there now, and pay attention. All 'dention, said the old black, with
both hands placed as desired, vainly wriggling his grizzled head, as if to get
both ears in front at one and the same time. Well then, cook; you see this
whale-steak of yours was so very bad, that I have put it out of sight as soon
as possible; you see that, don't you? Well, for the future, when you cook
another whale-steak for my private table here, the capstan, I'll tell you what
to do so as not to spoil it by overdoing. Hold the steak in one hand, and show
a live coal to it with the other; that done, dish it; d'ye hear? And now
to-morrow, cook, when we are cutting in the fish, be sure you stand by to get
the tips of his fins; have them put in pickle. As for the ends of the flukes,
have them soused, cook. There, now ye may go. ..
9 But Fleece had hardly
got three paces off, when he was recalled. Cook, give me cutlets for supper
to-morrow night in the mid-watch. D'ye hear? away you sail, then. --Halloa!
stop! make a bow before you go. --Avast heaving again! Whale-balls for
breakfast --don't forget. Wish, by gor! whale eat him, 'stead of him eat
whale. I'm bressed if he ain't more of shark dan Massa Shark hisself, muttered
the old man, limping away; with which sage ejaculation he went to his hammock.
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10 A little item may
as well be related here. The strongest and most reliable hold which the ship
has upon the whale when moored alongside, is by the flukes or tail; and as
from its greater density that part is relatively heavier than any other
(excepting the side-fins), its flexibility even in death, causes it to sink
low beneath the surface; so that with the hand you cannot get at it from the
boat, in order to put the chain round it. But this difficulty is ingeniously
overcome: a small, strong line is prepared with a wooden float at its outer
end, and a weight in its middle, while the other end is secured to the ship.
By adroit management the wooden float is to rise on the other side of the
mass, so that now having girdled the made whale, the chain is readily made to
follow suit; and being slipped along the body, is at last locked fast round
the smallest part of the tail, at the point of junction with its broad flukes
or lobes. ..
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